About 

• The Indian Government enacted the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 to ensure that child marriage is eradicated from within the society. 
• This Act is armed with enabling provisions to prohibit child marriages and provide relief to victims and enhance punishment for those who abet, promote or solemnise such marriages. 
• The Act applies to all India citizens irrespective of religion and beyond India.

Objectives of the Act

• The primary objective of the Act is to prohibit solemnization of child marriage. 
• As per the act, the age of marriage for boys is 21, and for girls, it is 18, and any marriage of people below this age will be considered as a child marriage which is illegal, an offence and is punishable under the law.
• The Act makes child marriage voidable.
• The Act also allows for maintenance and residence for the girl till her remarriage from the male contracting party or his parents.

Prevention

• Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO) are to be appointed in every state to prohibit child marriages, ensure the protection of the victims as well as prosecution of the offenders. 
• The Act provides punishment for those who permit and promote child marriages.

Protection

• The law provides for all support and aid including medical aid, legal aid, counselling and rehabilitation support to children once they are rescued. 
• It gives legal status to all children born from child marriages and makes provisions for their custody and maintenance. It provides for the residence and maintenance of the female contracting party.

Prosecution of Offenders

• The law provides for punishment for a male above 18 years of age marrying a child. 

Child Marriage to be Voidable

• Every child marriage shall be voidable, at the option of the contracting party who was a child at the time of the marriage.
• The annulment of child marriage can be sought within two years after the child who was a party to the marriage had attained majority.

Only the children in the marriage themselves can file a petition for voidability or annulment of marriage. And if the petitioner is a minor, the petition can be filed through a guardian or the next best friend of the married child (who must be an adult of 18 years or more), along with the Child Marriage Prohibition Officer (CMPO).